Films About Women Opening This Weekend
The Bling Ring – Written and Directed by Sofia Coppola
The Bling Ring
may be the most anxiety producing film I have ever seen. I sat raptly watching it with deep concern over the state of young people today. Thankfully, I was
with two young women who are interns for the Athena Film Festival, who were by the way also very anxious, and they both assured me that not all high school
kids are like the kids in the movie. It was a relief, but still, even if most kids are not like those in the film, some kids are. This is the latest film
from Sofia Coppola who has made a career of looking at youth, indulgence and fame. What she has accomplished here is to make good movie about a bunch of
hateful people. Read more…
The Wall
Martina Gedeck, star of the Academy Award-winning film The Lives Of Others, brings a vivid intensity to her role as an unnamed woman who
inexplicably finds herself cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the beautiful Austrian mountainside where
she is vacationing. Accompanied by her loyal dog Lynx, she becomes immersed in a world untouched by civilization and ruled by the laws of nature. As she
grapples with her mysterious circumstances, she begins an inward journey of spiritual growth and transcendence. Based on Marlen Haushofer’s eponymous
classic novel, The Wall is both a riveting tale of survival and a gorgeous meditation that raises profound questions about humanity and our relationship to
the natural world. (From Press Materials)
Twenty Feet From Stardom (doc)
What would a pop song be without the riffs, refrains, and harmonies of its backup vocalists? Although these singers are usually relegated to the margins,
and few, if any, become household names, their work has defined countless songs that remain in our hearts and collective consciousness. Twenty Feet from
Stardom juxtaposes interviews with industry legends (Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler, and others) and the relative unknowns who support them like Darlene
Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, and Judith Hill as they illuminate the art of melding their own distinct voices with lead vocals and reveal their
desires for careers as solo artists. [Synopsis courtesy of Sundance]
My Best Day – Directed by Erin Greenwell
Karen can’t believe that she has to work her receptionist gig on the Fourth of July. Then a call comes from her long-lost father, Sebastian Weinberg.
Enlisting her janitor friend Meagan to pose as a mechanic, she answers the call herself to investigate. In a little burg like this, you’d better believe
everything is connected, which means that pretty soon everyone is mixed up in each other’s business. Karen encounters her father’s closeted lover, a sister
addicted to off-track betting, a brother struggling with grade school heartache, a new boyfriend, and, if she can get out of jail in time, her father.
Karen’s quest to meet her dad sets in motion a crazy set of events. (From Press Materials)
Films About Women Currently Playing
Tiger Eyes
Violet and Daisy
As Cool As I Am – Written by Virginia Korus Spragg
Hannah Arendt
– Directed by Margarethe von Trotta
American Mary – Written and Directed by Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska
The East – Co-Written by Brit Marling
Shadow Dancer
Fill The Void
– Written and Directed by Rama Burshstein
Frances Ha – Co-Written by Greta Gerwig
The English Teacher – Co-Written by Stacy Chariton
Augustine – Directed by Alice Winocour
Venus and Serena – Directed by Maiken Baird and Michelle Major (doc)
Stories We Tell – Directed by Sarah Polley (doc)
Kiss of the Damned – Written and Directed by Xan Cassavetes
What Maisie Knew – Co-Written by Nancy Doyne
The Call
Spring Breakers
Films Directed by Women Opening This Weekend
Call Me Kuchu – Directed by Katherine Fairfax Wright, Malika Zouhali-Worrall
In Uganda, a new bill threatens to make homosexuality punishable by death. David Kato – Uganda’s first openly gay man – and his fellow activists work
against the clock to defeat the legislation while combating vicious persecution in their daily lives. But no one, not even the filmmakers, is prepared for
the brutal murder that shakes the movement to its core and sends shock waves around the world. (From IMDB)
Films Directed by Women Currently Playing
Peeples – Written and Directed by Tina Gordon Chism
Love Is All You Need – Directed by Susanne Bier
The Reluctant Fundamentalist – Directed by Mira Nair
No Place on Earth – Directed by Janet Tobias (doc)
Hava Naglia: The Movie – Directed by Roberta Grossman (doc)
Films Written by Women Currently Playing
Before Midnight – Co-Written by Julie Delpy
Olympus Has Fallen – Co-Written by Katrin Benedikt
Emperor – Co-Written by Vera Blasi
Films By and About Women on DVD
Betty and Coretta
